View full sizeCourtesy of Courtesy of (C) Carnival Film & Television Limited 2011 for MASTERPIECEMr. Carson and Lady Mary check out a newfangled contraption on "Downton Abbey."

After getting a nice head of steam in its first season, Season 2 of "Downton Abbey" graduated to full-fledged pop culture sensation. The early 20th-century saga of aristocrats, their staff, and the ample travails that beset them all has been a rather unlikely buzz magnet, inspiring parodies from "Saturday Night Live" and obsessive viewing.

Season 2 wrapped up Sunday night in grand style, with satisfying conclusions, frustrating developments, and other plot twists I won't describe for fear of being attacked by the No Spoilers Police.

If you watched it, though, what did you think? Were you pleased with how the Crawley family and their faithful servants saw the season out? Leave comments below.

Meanwhile, read "Downton Abbey" creator Julian Fellowes' interview with the New York Times (don't read it, however, if you haven't watched it yet and are a member of the No Spoiler Police). Fellowes talks about the thinking that went into many of Season 2's plot elements, as well as why he keeps putting obstacles before Mr. Bates and Anna:

Oh. I love Mr. Bates, Mr. Bates is one of my favorite characters. These
are two people who have not been given all that much in life, but what
they have been given is a real love. I wouldn’t ever want to undermine
that. But they’ve got to suffer a little. Nothing harder to dramatize
than happiness.

Blast you, Julian Fellowes!

If by some cataclysmic bad luck you missed the finale, you have 14 days to watch it online, at the PBS Web site.